Food Insecurity, Poverty and the Very Low-Income Food Environment

Abstract

In the past decade, the number of households experiencing food insecurity in the Global North has increased dramatically. Evidence suggests that this increase is associated with austerity policies introduced from 2008. Only a minority of those experiencing food insecurity access emergency food aid, such as food banks; however, food banks remain one of the key responses to rising food insecurity. The number of charitable food banks in the UK has seen rapid growth over the past decade; today, over 2,000 food banks operate alongside more than 3,000 independent food aid providers. Campaigners, including the Trussell Trust, argue that reducing the need for food banks in the UK requires policies addressing household poverty. Food insecurity in refugee settings is related to multiple and different issues from food insecurity in the Global North, and food security in these contexts is only possible if realised through multi-sectoral approaches. This chapter provides an overview of rising food insecurity in the Global North and South; it reviews key NGO responses, drawing upon examples from the Trussell Trust, UK, and food assistance in a refugee setting in Palestine, and discusses strategies to reduce reliance on food aid among both Palestinian refugees and UK households.